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The Permian Mass Extinction

The Permian - Triassic (P-Tr) extinction event, informally known as the Great Dying, was an extinction event that occurred 252.28 Ma (million years) ago, forming the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods, as well as the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct. It is the only known mass extinction of insects. Some 57% of all families and 83% of all genera became extinct. Because so much biodiversity was lost, the recovery of life on Earth took significantly longer than after any other extinction event, possibly up to 10 million years. (from wikipedia.org)

The Day The Earth Nearly Died
This is a BBC Horizon documentary, focusing on the mystery of the Permian extinction. The program features paleontologists and other scientists as they try to find clues to the great extinction.

Catastrophe - Planet of Fire
This program explores the Permian extinction, the largest ever when, 250 million years ago, 95% of life was destroyed. The evidence points to an eruption of the Siberian Traps in Eastern Russia.

Animal Armageddon - The Great Dying
250 million years ago, the Siberian Traps erupt into an active volcano. The eruption of the Traps causes land ecosystems to be put under serious stress, due to severe climate change caused by basalt flow volcanic eruptions in Siberia.

How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago
Professor Douglas Erwin discusses his research in China, South Africa and the western US in search of the causes and consequences of the Permian mass extinction.